In Memoriam
by MsDubstep
Summary: On the first anniversary of Dom's death, the team takes time to remember him. Eric attempts to reach out to the one who is taking this the hardest.


In Memoriam

By Bridget eN

Eric Beale remembered the date like he remembered his own birthday. May 10th, 2010. It was the day he and the rest of the team lost a good agent and an even better friend. Today was the first anniversary of Dominic Vail's death. Sam, Callen, Kensi, and Hetty all remembered this day clearly as well. The somber mood hung around the office like a fog.

Deeks must have felt pretty awkward, since he never met Dom. Nonetheless, he tried to offer what support he could to his team. Mostly though, he stayed silent, and thankfully he knew not to annoy Kensi, who Eric was sure was thankful as well.

The office was quiet. There were no investigations going on, no shoot-outs, car chases, cyber attacks or drama of any kind. It is as if the universe set aside this day to allow the team to reflect. Same had dug out Dom's old alien bobble head doll and set it on his own desk. Deeks purposefully didn't sit at the desk that was now his but was once Dom's; he'd found a nearby table to file down the mountain of paperwork he had. It seemed he finally understood why Sam had forbidden Deeks to sit at Dom's old desk when he first started here.

Kensi seemed to be the most dejected however and rightly so. Dom was her partner, and from what Eric had heard, she still felt responsible for Dom's kidnapping and death. Despite efforts from Sam and Callen to reassure and comfort her, her spirits didn't really lift much.

That evening, Eric walked by the team's office, I Pad in hand, going over some data. He hadn't really remembered what it was, because suddenly an insistent nagging in Eric's mind told him to stop what he was doing and peer over at the office from the foot of the stairs. He never really took the time to look down there from where he usually stood in the mornings, giving his shrill whistle to signal the team to come up to Ops until tonight, and it reminded him that perhaps he should stop and smell the roses occasionally, because life passes you by quicker than one would realize. Dom knew that all too well.

Eric spotted Kensi sitting on the couch outside the office area. She looked relaxed sitting there, but she had a faraway glance in her eyes. She was no doubt in her own little world. Eric started to slowly walk down the stairs and towards Kensi, running through all the possible things he could say to her to make her feel better. But ultimately, he fell short. If Sam and Callen, who knew her more closely, couldn't really say anything to make her believe that she needn't blame herself anymore, what would Eric be able to say?

Still, he felt the need to check on her. Dom had become Eric's close friend. They were intellectual equals; they would talk about a variety of topics whenever they would go out for a beer or just sit around in Ops when Dom had nothing to do. And Dom was one of the very few people who could stand a chance with him in chess. It had been refreshing, and it pained Eric all that much more now that Dom was gone.

"Eric?" Kensi's soft voice broke his reverie. He looked at Kensi and realized he'd spaced out, just standing there. She looked at him with half concern and half amusement.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "You look like you're in your own little world there."

Eric fought off the urge to chuckle at the sheer irony of that statement. He just shook his head and smiled a little.

"I'm fine." He replied. And then he realized that he only really needed to say one thing to Kensi.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. Kensi smiled at Eric and nodded.

"Yeah." She replied. "I think I will be. Hetty invited me and Nell out for dinner and a movie. It's just a little girl's night out. But I think that's what I need. I've done enough beating myself up today…"She looked down in thought for a moment, and then looked upwards, toward Sam's desk. "Sam was right. It's time to move on. But I'll never forget him."

Eric felt happy that Sam had gotten through to her. He was actually a bit worried about her. They weren't close but she was a decent person; she didn't need to feel so bad about herself.

Kensi's smile returned and as Nell and Hetty came into view and started to approach her, Kensi gave Eric a friendly hug.

"Thanks, Eric." She said softly. Eric smiled and returned the brief hug, and then they let go.

"You're welcome." Eric replied, nodding. He felt much better. And she and Sam were right. It was time to move on.

"Ready, Kensi?" Nell called out. Eric glanced over to Nell and found himself drawn to the classy outfit that she'd changed into for the girl's night out. Not that her work clothes weren't classy but there was certain panache to her outfit, and he found himself staring longer than he should.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer." Hetty's gruff voice cut in. She must have noticed him spacing out again. Kensi giggled before waving at Eric and heading out the door. Nell just looked down and smirked cutely. A rush of heat surfaced on Eric's face and he was 99.9% sure that he was blushing. He kicked himself silently for letting himself be caught off guard like that and cleared his throat.

"Have fun, ladies." He said a bit hoarsely, waving at them.

"You do the same, Mr. Beale." Hetty replied. "Take the rest of the night off." And with that, she followed Kensi out the door.

"Thanks!" Eric called out, grinning. 'Sweet, I finally have some time to play the new Call of Duty.' He thought triumphantly.

Nell looked up at Eric and smirked. "Don't get into too much trouble, rebel." She then winked at him. Winked! Eric felt himself blush again, probably more than he had before, and he couldn't help but laugh. Nell knew that there was all sorts of trouble Eric could get into given the chance.

"You know me." He said with a sly grin. Eric thought he saw her cheeks turn a darker pink under the dim light, but he decided that it was his eyes playing tricks on him.

"Mhm." She smirked again, and then followed Hetty and Kensi out the door, leaving Eric alone in the office. Eric waited until his heart rate returned to semi normal before turning to leave. Eric was really glad that Nell came to work with him and the team, although it scared him sometimes how much him and Nell thought alike. He even wondered if someone had come and take part of Eric's brain in his sleep and put it into Nell's head. Shaking his head at the ridiculous thought, he started to walk toward the stairs, but stopped at Sam's desk.

The bobble head alien doll was still sitting near a picture of Sam's daughters. He looked at it for a little while, admiring it like Dom often did, and then gave the doll's head a good flick. It wobbled wildly for a few moments, and then started to calm down. He walked back up to Ops to collect his things and head home, now satisfied that the day ended better than he thought it would.

Nell had filled the void that his friend left when he died, and Deeks was a great partner to Kensi, but it was a good thing that no one would ever forget Dominic Vail. He wasn't around for very long, but his naiveté and his friendly charm had sewn its way into the heart of all of them.

THE END


End file.
